Aliens: The Other Survivor
by Warlord Darnell
Summary: What if there was a second surviving colonist? What if that other colonist was a teenage male. What happens when rescue finally comes for Jake Essex. Featuring the storyline from Aliens with that very twist.   First Aliens fanfiction; Done, and plz R&R Ch
1. The Day Rescue Came

Aliens: The Second Survivor

Chapter 1: The Day the Rescue Came

He lived on a perilous three-way edge of instinct, paranoia, and routine. Instinct kept him moving. Paranoia kept him in the know. Routine kept him sane.

He had survived for two years after the infestation happened. It took two years for rescue to come. The day had been part of his paranoid routine.

He hid in a hub in the service shaft. It was where he lived. No bigger in space than the space below a dining table. His alarm was his old cellular. He always had it go off at 7:30. He woke up, yet didn't shut it off. He let it shut off on it's own. He'd also modified it to only go off once.

Removing himself from the bed he'd set up, which was a mat with a pillow and blanket on top, he got dressed for the day.

The only thing he'd needed to put on was his survival jacket; he always slept in his clothes. The jacket contained everything he'd need to be able to venture out beyond the shafts. It held his security controls, a couple of throwing knives, and his all-access key-card.

He was 17, and lived the past two years on a daily routine he'd come up with. At the meeting points to his hub, he'd set up cameras for both. However, the entrances weren't under surveillance. His solution for seeing if the coast was clear, was to use a video-equipped toy spy-car. Using his monitor on the remote, he guided the car to his desired exit.

Seeing the coast was clear, he brought himself to the exit, leaving the car there and checking still.

Upon reaching the exit, he took the spycar and remote and placed them in an inside pocket of his coat.

It was rather large, made of leather, and had tons of pockets. He chose it for another reason. He could easily slip out of it if one of the Xenos grabbed him. Though he had several other names for them.

The Enemy. The Controllers… He'd had dozens for them. Most of them were written in his journal. However, being out in the open, it was not time to look back on what was in the Safehouse( his name for the shaft hub) and time to focus on what is out here.

He'd needed to grab breakfast. He always had stashed canned food in different places. The nearest one was on the floor below, ten meters to the left, hidden behind a loose panel.

He was on the second floor, and the one below was the ground level, home to the entrance of this part of the facility.

He knew they came around there within the hour during the local Tuesday. He was certain that was today, he kept a calendar.

Making his way to the stairs, he slid down the banister. The best way to move was fast and with a purpose. He never wanted to waste time getting from point a to point b. Time-wasters got killed, brought back to the hive, whatever they did when they caught you.

He moved towards the panel, making certain to constantly watch his back. Constant vigilance was reinforce with slight paranoia. He'd seen his friends get taken back because they didn't look back. It was also the basis for one of his survival mottos.

He moved towards the loose panel he'd hidden the cans behind. He would take it to the Safehouse, if it weren't for the fact he'd need to feed himself if it was found.

To open the panel, one just had to knock the panel in the right place. Knocking the upper-right spot really hard, he opened the panel. And found a sight that was unexpected

It seemed most of the food he'd stashed in there went missing. He'd had 50 cans yesterday, and today there were only 23.

"Crap!" He yelled. He was startled by his own echo. Checking around his back, he found that nothing was sneaking up on him. Then he checked above and below. Still nothing.

He sorted through the cans and took two. Replacing the panel, he then started walking back to the stairs when he heard the sound.


	2. The Rescue

**Chapter 2: The Rescue**

The sound was something different. It was one he hadn't heard in a long time. It was the opening of the door.

The people in charge of the colony had shut them all as an attempt to lock out the creatures. They never thought that they could crawl through the vents. He was even confident that the creatures would be kept at bay by closing the doors too.

He had heard some voices from the door. The voices weren't very loud. A normal person would barely hear them, they were too quiet to hear from far away. During the heyday of the colony, the voices would only be audible if you were close up. Yet the strange quiet produced by the lack of people had made them be heard.

He knew this was it, he was finally going to be rescued. He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted: "Hey, over here!"

He knew that the sound was heard. He shouted again: "I'm over here!" and started waving his arms

He heard the voices come closer. The sounds they made from the running seemed very heavy on the metal.

Two Colonial Marines ran up to him, both carrying pulse-guns, the one on the right pulled his weapon down, and spoke to his headset. "Sir," he called in "We've found one,"

The one on the left spoke to the him "What's your name kid?"

Pausing for a moment to remember his name, he answered; "Jake Essex sir."

The Marine looked Jake up and down. "Is there anyone else with you?"

He asked.

"As far as I know, I'm the only one left." Jake answered.

The Marine talking to the headset spoke up; "It's clear, I don't think anything's going to come for us here."

Jake was confused; he was sure that there were some around here. These creatures were the quietest ever. He'd been snuck up on by them dozens of times. They managed to get their hands on him twice.

Yet if there were two Marines here, there had to be more. Only real reason for it.

He was startled when the one on the left finally spoke up. "You alright there kid? You've been like that for the past five minutes. We're going to take a further look at the place if you don't mind."

Jake looked around. At least now there were people packing real heat. He'd be safe with them.

"Where is it you want to see?" Jake asked.

"Wanna take a further look, continue our sweep." He explained. "You can stick with us if you want, we could use an extra set of eyes and ears."

Jake thought for a moment and answered "Sure, it's not like I have anywhere else to go."

"Just keep an eye on our backs." The one on the right explained.

"Sure thing" Jake spoke

The rest of their sweep was very methodical, and also short.

They called in, and the rest came and took a look around. The one on the right was Hicks. The one on the left was Hudson.

They took him to the rest of the group after that, and he met the rest of the team.

They set up in the mess hall area, and he met the two members of the rescue who weren't marines. The man who was with them, Burke, was from the Company. The lady who was with them, Ripley, was their expert on what was going on.

Jake was talking to Ripley after that, sharing stories. "And then we plugged him in, and found out that we were expendable." Ripley recounted. Jake was in disbelief. "No way," He commented "That's impossible. Androids were programmed to not let us come to harm. There's no way it would count you as expendable."

Bishop was walking behind them, and had overheard. "Well the BH-93's were always prone to such fits of zeal." He put in.

That explained a lot. If Ripley was really in hypersleep for 52 years after her story, then that's 5 whole android models that have been made.

"Well, if the model you had as part of the crew was like that, then let's hope that bishop doesn't malfunction. The reason no androids colonized is that the place is prone to solar flares from Zeta-Reticuli. They had to put down five that had violence prone malfunctions."

Ripley looked scared at what Jake just said. "If it does happen, we should try to restrain Bishop. Doubt it will, the last flare happened when I was five, an…"

Jake was interrupted by a clanging sound from the floor. It was growing louder as it the source came closer, constantly making noise. As it came closer, the marine with the motion tracker was constantly yelling the distance. "Ten meters….five meters….three meters…one meter, it's to the left." The sound ended.

"What the hell?" Jake said as he noticed the source of the noise. A small girl was crawling in the space below the panes and towards as service shaft. Jake was sure he had seen her somewhere, and was thinking when Ripley suddenly yelled: "After her, grab her."

Hicks knelt down and reached his hand for her, slowly and surely, saying that things were alright. Then she reached for his hand and sank her teeth into it.

Hicks pulled back and dropped the f-bomb. Jake had an idea.

"I got it!" he yelled as she ran into a shaft. Jake dived in after her, and what he saw was incredible.

It looked like a rodent nest, yet with objects that were most likely hers.

He looked at an award with a picture of her from second grade. He then realized who she was.

"Hey Newt, it's me Jake." He announced as she was about to crawl into a shaft on the far end. She stopped when she heard his voice.

"It's really you?" She asked as she turned around. "I thought you were dead." She admitted

"I thought the same thing of you," He admitted "and to be honest, someone had to have been stealing my food."

"Sorry." She apologized "I was hungry and didn't know that they were still needed."

"Well I'm glad that you still kept up with what your brother told you." He paused "Those people are here to rescue us. Come on, they're here to help." He motioned for her to come with him.

They left the shaft and emerged to find out some news.

"We've found the colonists." Hicks announced as he looked up from the viewscreen.

Jake took a look at it. It seemed all of the trackers were in one location, the last three below-ground levels. He knew what that meant.

"Looks like a freaking town meeting in there" Burke commented

"Well that's not what's going on!" Jake yelled "They're all cocoons now. Let's just get outta here! Just nuke the site from orbit and you'll be done."

Burke and the Sergeant looked at Jake. Burke whispered something that sounded like "Crazy kid" and then they looked back at him.

"Alright, let's move Marines. We're goin' into the danger!" The Sergeant announced.

Jake was in disbelief "I am telling the truth," He insisted"they're all cocoons now. You're just going to die if you go there. There's one Xeno for every colonist that was here, excluding me and Newt. Let's just get out of here." He finished with a sigh.

"Look kid," Corporal Hicks told "I know that you've had a bad experience similar to Ripley's, but we just need to know what's in there. I want you to know that everything's going to be fine." He then started walking towards the LRV

"Hey Hicks!" Jake yelled.

Hicks spun around to look at Jake

"I'm going to hold you to your word on that." He replied, running to catch up with them, climbing into the APC.

They were taking a trip that he was sure was one way.


	3. Their House

**Chapter 3: Their House**

Jake's worst fear was coming true. They were going to go into the hive. Those two years he'd been surviving through were scary enough, practically a living nightmare.

He'd had a schematic of the facility on his security remote. He'd been able to access the cameras of the facility with it, and knew what was in there.

He'd marked the map with three key colors. Green marked what he considered "His house". Basically the places he'd set up traps, stashes, surveillance , and his living area.

Gray marked "No-man's-land". It was places where the Creatures didn't set up shop, yet occasionally roamed around. He'd not put anything here, except at the borders he'd custom-programmed proximity mines to go off when one of the creatures was near.

Red marked the sublevels, or "Their House". This was where the hive was, and the creatures definitely owned. He'd made sure he'd never go in, and never be brought to.

The APC sped towards the entrance to the place, and all of the Marines except the driver, Lt. Gorman, left.

Jake spoke up. "I'd like a headset please," He requested "Like to be able to talk to them."

Gorman handed him a headset similar to the ones He, Ripley, and Burke were wearing.

Jake took a look at the monitors, and saw the hive once again.

The hardened-resin surface was even freakier then he'd remembered, it was a full year since the nightmares had gone away. He'd refrained from using the surveillance systems that were still working in that section.

He turned around to see Newt sitting right on the bench, just staring at the wall.

Turning around, he saw that they were further in the Hive. The resin-rib-handholds were becoming thicker, more concentrated. The resin-walls were flowing together, becoming more concentrated.

He noticed they were in the cocoon chamber. Set up around a shaft, it appeared that the colonist had been taken here.

He could see Apone's monitor, watched him pick up a dead face-hugger with the barrel of his pulse-gun, look at it, and then drop it.

He looked back at Ripley. She looked very nervous. It showed. Burke looked disgusted. Gorman looked very calm.

He turned back to the monitors, looking at Hicks looking at the motion tracker.

"We've got a colonist!" Vasquez shouted. He looked at her monitor.

There, held in the resin by the arms, was a female colonist. She looked in pain, yet seemed very familiar.

He recognized who it was. It was Mrs. Gordon. Newt's own mother had become a cocoon. He thought about telling Newt, yet figured she was better off not knowing.

He heard Mrs. Gordon say "Kill me now." He heard Dietrich try to comfort her when he saw her convulse.

Shaking and moving forward, slowly, yelling screams of pain. The sight was horrible, and the worst part hadn't come.

From her stomach, below the ribcage, he could see the skin move forward, bulging into an all-too-familiar shape.

Blood splattered all over, showering the Marines in blood. From the woman's chest, he saw one in chest-burster stage.

Apone yelled "Flamethrower please!" and after having one handed to him, he proceded to burn the carcass and Chest-burster to the ground.

He noticed Dietrich walk backwards. Turning around slowly, little by little, to reveal the Hunter-Xeno that stared directly at him. He heard the aah-hum that the creature produced through Dietrich's mike.

It seemed that Dietrich didn't even notice, and went as far as to rest his hand on it's abdomen.

Jake yelled. "Dietrich, it's right in front of you!"

Dietrich looked up, directly into the second set of Mandibles, which proceeded to silence him.

Jake looked at the other monitors. They were all noticing them, and shooting at the Creatures. Slowly, one by one, the monitors went to static. First Dietrich, then Apone, then Wierbowski.

Jake had enough of the death. He got up, and ran straight to the Driver's seat.

Grabbing the steering handles, he quickly pushed them both forward and accelerated to the hive. Still wearing his headset, he yelled for them to pull out.

Breaking through the walls to the hive, he brought the door as far as he could.

The Marines were on their way back, with Vasquez holding up the rear with her SMART gun.

Ripley opened the door for him, and helped everyone inside. Then she shut the door and yelled "TAKE US OUTTA HERE!".

Jake happily obliged, backing out of the hive, and speeding out of the facility. He was heading as far away from the facility at first, then tried to make a loop back towards where they picked him up. A good 500 meters away, the transaxle gave out, and the APC slowed to a halt.

As far as Jake was concerned, he'd proven himself right to everyone. He only wished people didn't have to die for it.


	4. From Bad to Worse

**Chapter 4: From Bad to Worse**

Jake, having justproven that he was right, looked back at the Marines. He saw Frost, Crowe, Hicks, and Drake get back up. Hudson, and Vasquez had managed to grab onto something, and were just staring at him; looks of disbelief right on their faces.

Burke was at the back, and looked like he was going to vomit. Ripley was holding Newt, and they both were staring at him.

As the other Marines got back on their feet, he received stares from all of them. He never knew that being right wasn't always a good thing.  
>Hudson finally broke the silence; "Why are we just staring at him. The dude just saved our lives."<p>

Vasquez nodded; "Thanks, we owe you one." She said.

Jake answered "Well, what are we waiting for. Let's get outta here." He turned to Gorman "You came with a dropship right?"

Gorman nodded "Let's call them up. I'm sure Ferro and Spunkmeyer don't have nothing better to do anyways."

Burke tried to speak up, but instead, blew chunks onto Hudson's back.

He tried to apologize, but Hudson punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

"You puke on me again, and it'll be in the nuts." He grunted.

Jake grinned at what Hudson just did. "I have to say, you sure know how to stage a rescue." Jake commented

They exited the APC and walked to a clearing. The marines lit flares and put them around the site, making sure to keep them visible.

Gorman radioed in, and they started waiting.

From the north, Jake could see the dropship. He and Newt were finally going to be rescued.

Unfortunately, it seemed fate had other plans. As it approached, it started to veer off course, and fall to the ground. As it came closer, they realized what had happened.

"It's about to crash!" Bishop spoke up. Everyone moved to cover as it impacted the ground.

It seemed that things were going from bad to worse.

When everyone walked back to the crash site, they realized what this meant.

"We're screwed!" Hudson yelled. "We just got our asses kicked, and now we have no way off."

"Well, if you all want to live, you should all go inside, preferably where the creatures haven't set up shop." Jake commented

"I agree," Newt replied. "They mostly come at night, mostly."

Newt was right. They mostly came at night, and their best bet was to hunker down.

"The temperature also dips below freezing sometimes." Jake put in. "It's best to go inside when that happens."

They then began the trek back to the facility, going to where they first found them, to where they had a better chance.

When they got inside, they did a check of the place. It seemed that they could set up base there, for now at least.

They set up watches, with Frost and Drake taking the first.

Jake was with Ripley and Newt in the mess hall. Ripley had made hot chocolate for the three of them.

Jake was nervous though. He somehow knew he would need his personal defense item, and right now it was in the Safehouse.

Setting down the hot chocolate, he told Ripley he'd be right back.

Making his way up the stairs and into the ducts, he reached the Safehouse in under three minutes.

He looked through the things he had in it; His Weyland-Yutani Hyper-Katana, his journal, and his music player. He put the Katana inside his jacket hanging on a loop, and put his journal and music player in a different pocket.

Making his way back to the Mess hall, he looked at the surviving Marines. He figured that some of them wouldn't make it, and felt a little sorry.

When he got back to the Mess hall, he saw Ripley wiping spilt chocolate off Newt's face.

He then took a seat next to them.

"Oops," Ripley said, "Looks like I cleaned a little bit of your face. Guess I'll have to do the whole thing."

She then started cleaning up Newt. Jake smiled. It was good to know that someone cared about them. He looked up at a mirror, and got a good look at himself.

It seemed that over the years, his black hair had grown down to his shoulders, still lying completely straight as opposed to the curly black hair that Ripley had. His glasses, the frames to which were designer, had become a bit dirty. He also noticed he was starting to grow facial hair.

It seemed that he was starting to look like a man, and as he made eye-contact with his reflection, he caught a glimpse of sadness in those brown eyes he had.

Newt finally spoke to him "Do you miss Roxane?" she asked.

Jake knew who she meant.

"Who's Roxane?" Ripley asked.

"Well, she was my girlfriend, and the love of my life." Jake explained. "we survived the first year after the infestation together. One day, a week after new years, we were setting up a new stash. I bend over to put the cans in, and I hear her scream. Next thing I know, a Xeno has her, and with his little-mouth, killed her."

"I'm so sorry." Ripley replied.

"Well," Jake went on "A few day's later, a miracle happens. I was going to get stuff from that very same stash, and as I look down, I see one of them through the floor. As I stand there, frozen in fear, it seems like it doesn't even notice me. It just walks on, and leaves."

He paused for effect and continued. "Seven similar events happened all through the year. I personally think that she went to heaven, and became my guardian angel, because someone had been watching over me all year."

He looked at the door, and noticed Hudson standing there. "Nice story kid. One question though. Where was your guardian angel when we were getting our asses kicked back at the hive?"

Ripley looked at Hudson, and answered for Jake "You leave the kid alone, he's entitled to his own beliefs like everyone else."

"Well, the real reason I'm here is because Gorman wants to have some sort of talk with the kid."

Jake was confused. "Me or Newt?" he asked.

"You, and he's waiting."

Jake got up. "I recommend putting Newt to bed. I'll probably be a while." He told Ripley.

He left the mess hall with a sense of forboding.


	5. The Talk, Truth, and Plan

**Chapter 5: The Talk, Truth, and Plan**

Jake walked with Hudson down to the Security center in silence. He had no idea what Gorman would want to talk with him about. He was just a teenager, he doubted they wanted to hear his opinion.

No, they probably wanted to know what happened on the last few days. It was the only thing that made sense.

They entered the security center, and saw everyone waiting. A table had been set up, and in it sat Burke, Bishop, Vasquez, Gorman, and Hicks. There were two empty seats. Hudson took the last one on the side of the table. All that was left was the one on the end.

Gorman spoke up "Go ahead, take a seat, this won't take very long." He then motioned at the empty chair.

Jake sat down, nervous as to what this was about.

Burke was the first to speak. "What we want to know, is what do you know about what happened."

Jake was confused "What do you mean?"

"What we want to know is what happened during the first few days." Gorman clarified

"Well," Jake answered "I know that they tried to capture it, and after a while, things got out of control. They tried to barricade themselves in, yet the creatures made their way in through the ducts, and the floor panels."

There was a moment where he though he heard screams coming from the security monitors, and thought he saw Ripley and Newt appealing to the camera on the one monitoring the science lab.

"Well, there is one other thing." Bishop added. "We want your opinion on our next plan of action."

He saw Burke press a button on the security panel in his peripheral vision, and one of the screens went blank.

"We're hoping to be able to remotely fly the dropship to pick us up, and we want a good escape route out of here. A place where we can still escape through if things go bad." Hicks explained.

"Well, no matter what, they'll still make it through." Jake answered. "Your best bet is to find a way that will keep them away from you and still be able to escape. I recommend the shaft above this level, to the first roof level. That'll be the shortest way, yet the only problem is the fan. Make it past there, and you'll be home free. That's what I recommend."

They took it in for a moment when the fire alarm went off. "We've got a fire in the science lab!" Hicks yelled.

Jake saw a look of dread in Burke's eyes. While everyone else was getting up to run down there, Burke just stayed there.

Jake was staring Burke down.

"If Ripley and Newt wind up with Face-huggers on them, I will personally make sure you die." Jake threatened before running down the hall.

When he got to the science lab, he could see the Marines struggling to get the door open.

He remembered his all-access key-card, and after retrieving it, swiped it through the door, opening it for the Marines.

They ran in. Ripley was struggling to keep a face-hugger off of her, and Newt was crawling away from one.

He reached for his Hyper-Katana, and drew it. He ran to the one going after Newt, and stabbed it right in the center, killing it. From behind, he heard gunshots.

Turning around, he saw that the face-hugger Ripley was struggling with had been shot.

He heard a hissing sound coming from his sword, and saw the weaker acid of the face-hugger was being removed by the special feature on his sword.

The Weyland-Yutani Hyper-Katana had a thin layer of nanobots on the blade that would keep it functioning in caustic and corrosive conditions. When sheathed, a nanobot factory in the scabbard started to repair any damage the blade sustained.

Jake sheathed the katana, and saw Burke just standing there.

Everyone turned to look at him. "Thought you could have them be impregnated." Jake called out.

"He could have had us be impregnated with nobody knowing." Ripley added "Smuggle us through customs, carrying a specimen for the company to do what they pleased with."

Jake walked up to Burke "Just one question though" Jake finished "Why?"

Burke paused for a moment before answering. "The Company's Bioweapons department would want something like this to use as a threat against unruly colonies."

Ripley got up "You didn't have us come here to kill it did you?" She asked "You had us come here to capture it, one way or another."

Burke nodded "In fact, according to the statement filed by the Company, you all are expendable."

Everyone just stared at Burke after that, disgusted by what they just heard.

Hudson walked up to Burke, and started sizing him up "You disgust me you Bastard." Hudson then pulled out a combat knife. "How about we throw you to the hive and see what they do with you."

Hicks nodded "He's more of a liability than an asset now. But I have a different idea. Let's just lock him in a closet and leave him here."

Burke looked shocked. Jake turned to him. "You may as well go to the hive and ask them for help, because you aren't getting any from us."

Bishop turned to Hicks and said "I'll go start to bring the dropship down if that's okay."

Hicks nodded. The plan had to be enacted now, because it was getting late.

Burke started to shake "You guys aren't serious are you, I mean, it's not like I would throw you to them or something."

Hicks walked up to him "You think of us as expendable. You can get off the planet just like any of us, yet if you try to bring us down, then we're going to leave you here."

Frost and Drake returned, looking shaken. "Their coming" Frost announced. "And fast" Drake added.

Gorman straightened up "Vasquez, Drake, Frost, and Hudson, you start re-welding the doors. I want them to have no way in."

Hudson, Vasquez, Drake, and Frost yelled "yes sir", and started to make their way down the halls.

Welding sounds were heard a few minutes later. It was time to hold the line, because it was now or never.

Jake had a bad feeling about this.


	6. Archeron Nights

**Chapter 6: Archeron Nights**

Jake looked at his watch, it read 10 pm. That was Archeron time of course. He looked back, and saw Hicks teaching Ripley how to use the pulse rifle.

What he'd give for a firearm. He had a feeling that he'd need one. Tonight was going to be his last night on the planet, and he wanted to have more than the sword.

He saw the other marines head back. He had a sinking feeling deep in his gut.

Looking down, he saw something move. It was one of them.

Looking back up, he saw Vasquez in the front, followed by Drake, then Frost, then Hudson.

Looking back down, he saw the creature move to the middle, where Frost was.

The creature grabbed a hold of the pipes, then lunged vertically, breaking through the panels in between Frost and Drake.

Frost was still moving with barely any time to notice the Xeno in front of him.

Moving it's tail around Frost's torso, it grabbed him, and dragged him down screaming bloody murder.

Hudson was standing there, and had a "What just happened" look on his face.

They could still hear Frost screaming. For a moment, some gunshots were heard with the screaming, then, silence.

Unbeknownst to Hudson, one of the creatures was walking up from behind. Slowly, silently it crept up behind Hudson.

Jake noticed the creature and yelled for Hudson to turn around. Hudson slowly turned and noticed the creature as it continued to come towards him. He looked as Hudson just stared the thing right in the head, and then brought the shotgun he was carrying up. "Eat lead you bastard!" he commanded as he brought the barrel into it's mouth and fired.

The creature gave a scream that sounded like a peacock and an elephant at the same time.

Hudson turned around, and noticed the two-meter hole in the floor where the creature came through.

Jake yelled to Hudson "Run! You can make it across if you jump!"

Hudson just stared at it for a moment, then started to run.

Jake could see another one move to the hole through the panels. He looked up, and could see Hudson continuing to get a running start.

He yelled "Jump!"

Hudson took his advice and took a leap of faith over the hole. When Hudson landed however, he didn't make it completely over. His feet touched the edge of the hole.

Hudson was starting to loose his balance as soon as his feet touched the floor.

Jake ran to Hudson and held out his hand. He could see the creature turn around and prepare to grab him.

Just in the nick of time however, Hudson grabbed Jake's hand, and was helped over onto the other side.

"Thanks kid." He said, breaking into a run further down the hall.

They had made it to the Science lab as soon as the lights turned red.

He noticed Ripley and Newt banging on the exit door. Burke was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that Burke had locked them in.

Hicks was up on a table opening a vent. "Everyone, we can go through the vents." He yelled "Let's leave Burke and go!" He got in first.

Ripley helped Newt in second, and got in third. She then motioned for Jake to get in next.

Jake climbed on the table and got in the vent. He helped Hudson in. Vasquez got in next, then Gorman, then Drake.

They started to crawl through the vents when they heard the scream.

It was Burke. His voice rose and fell in it's blood-curdling way before being suddenly silenced.

They kept crawling through. They made the first turn, when the Aah-hum was heard.

Jake turned his head to see there was another Xeno headed for Drake.

He saw Drake start firing his pistol at the Xeno, which only seemed to make it pissed. The creature grabbed Drake's leg and started to pull him back.

Vasquez interrupted Jake's view "Keep going, it's no use trying to wait for him." She said, and motioned for Jake to continue.

As they kept going, a creaking sound was heard, growing louder, and the vent started to shake. The next thing he heard was Gorman screaming, then gunshots.

When Jake looked back to see what was going on, he was told by Vasquez to keep going and forget Gorman.

They approached the fan-junction, and saw Ripley and Hicks trying to help Newt.

Jake got onto the fan and tried to assist them in rescuing Newt from falling. The fan was very slippery, and Jake easily lost his balance and started falling through the gap.

On the other side below, saw Newt struggling in the water.

He grabbed onto a pipe, then offered his hand to Newt, who grabbed it. He then pulled her out of the water and onto the concrete.

He heard Ripley yell for them to wait and how she would come and get them. He then heard Hicks yell "We can go back for them later, we have to keep going though!" Then he heard Hudson say "You can't just leave them there!"

Jake and Newt looked down from the fan, and saw them. 4 hunter-type Xenos creeping towards them. Slowly, and surely, they moved in. It only took 1 to grab Newt. However, it eventually took all three to grab Jake.

Slowly and surely, they brought Jake and Newt to the Hive.


	7. Midnight Overtime

**Chapter 7: Midnight Overtime**

**Ripley**

_ Ripley looked through the vents to see what had happened. She saw four Xenos take the kids away. She couldn't believe it. _

_ Hicks yelled "We've got to keep going. We can come back for them later, but we have to keep going!" _

_ She turned back and looked at Hudson and Vasquez. "We can't just leave them there can we?" Hudson asked. _

_ She agreed with that same question. Hicks answered: "We have to get to the dropship. I just received an update from Bishop, and it looks like the place is gonna blow."_

_ Vasquez nodded, and said "we gotta get outta this vent first." She then started to climb through to the other side. _

_ Everyone soon followed suit. However, Ripley wanted to go back and rescue them. Perhaps they should get out of the vents first._

_ They crawled through to the exit panel, and started to walk away from the building._

_ The dropship was waiting for them with the ramp down. Getting on, they started to take off. "We're not leaving Bishop" Ripley emphasized. _

_ "We're not?" Bishop inquired._

"_No." Ripley answered "Take us to that platform." She instructed. She then left the cockpit and started to put something together. _

_ Duct-taping a pulse rifle and a flamethrower together, she was determined to go after the kids. She then returned to the cockpit._

_ "If any of you want to come with me to rescue the kids, then speak now or forever hold your peace." She announce. _

_ Hudson and Vasquez looked at each other and nodded. "We'll go." They answered in unison. _

_ Hicks spoke up "You two are crazy." He then paused "Which is why I'm coming with you." He continued._

_ Bishop set them down on the platform, and they exited and made their way to the elevator. Ripley had her pulse-flamethrower combo, Hudson had his shotgun, Vasquez had the SMART rifle, and Hicks had dual-pistols._

_ Ripley punched for the sublevels, and heard Hudson say "Elevator to Hell baby!"_

**Jake**

Jake felt like his worst nightmare had come true. Rescue had come to pick him up, and still the Xenos managed to bring him back to the hive. He believed that Ripley would come for him and Newt though.

He and Newt had been placed side by side in resin-restraints that had yet to fully harden. They had also been placed in front of two eggs.

He would soon be reunited with Roxane, after he went through the hell of becoming a cocoon though.

He heard the sound of the eggs opening, and saw them. Two face-huggers, slowly crawling towards them.

He screamed with Newt, hoping that Ripley would hear them if she'd even come back. He watched as the face-hugger crawled closer, moving towards them inch by inch.

He'd prayed that his Roxane, his guardian angel, had one more trick up her sleeve.

Just as the face-huggers were closing in on them, Ripley lit them on fire.

He saw Vasquez move forward, "The place is crawling with them, do what you need to do fast." She said.

Hicks backed up, with Hudson in front. "Let's make this even." Hudson said as he started to free Jake from his restraints. Jake looked and saw Ripley do the same for Newt.

"I knew you'd come back for me." Newt said.

"Even without the trackers we still found you." Hudson said. "You were screaming like there was something crawlin' up your ass." He commented.

Jake laughed. Leave it to Hudson to make a comment that vulgar.

"Well, my guardian angel gave you the guidance to find us." Jake replied. He tapped his fist twice against his chest, kissed it, then extended two fingers to the sky.

"Let's get outta here. This place gives me the creeps." Vasquez announced.

As they were making their way back, they ran into the worst place in the hive.

The Queen's Chamber, where the queen laid even more eggs. It was the most disgusting sight Jake had seen. The queen looked like a giant termite with her egg-sack attached. Separated from them by a clearing full of eggs, they got a good look at her.

The part that got to Jake was the fact that she had four arms. Two regular-sized ones that were proportional, and two small ones in the center.

The queen looked at them, and made a scratching sound. From the corners came three hunter-types who looked determined to defend her.

Ripley picked up Newt, and held her in one arm. Slowly, they made their way back out of the queen's chamber.

Jake saw Ripley light the place on fire, and heard the xenos scream.

They made their way back to the elevator, with Hicks leading the way.

A Hunter landed in front of them, blocking their path. Hicks started to unload with both pistols on it. The acid blood splattered Hicks, and started to eat away at his armor.

"I've got him!" Jake announced, helping to slip off his armor, and helping him onto the elevator.

They all got on, and punched it when they saw the Queen go after them.

The elevator door finally closed, and they were going up. They were going up, yet it didn't seem fast enough.

When they got back to the platform, it seemed like the worst had happened. Bishop had taken off and left.

"Dammit Bishop!" Ripley shouted. It seemed like they were all going to die here, on a colony over-run, with an atmosphere-processor about to go nuclear. They saw the elevator start to go down, and felt a sinking feeling.

"Man, we're all gonna die here." Hudson thought out loud. Jake thought the same thing. Looking back at the elevator, he saw it rise with the Queen on it.

Newt yelled, "It's Bishop!" and pointed to the edge. There, moving in, was the dropship. And Bishop was clearly visible in the cockpit.

He extended a ladder and everyone got on. Making their way to the cockpit to take a seat, they heard Bishop say "Sorry I had to scare you like that, that platform was getting too unstable."

Jake looked at the processor, and noticed the lightning starting to build up on the outside. "Punch it Bishop, the thing's gonna blow!" He yelled.

Bishop brought it up, and took them away from the surface.

Speeding up right out of atmosphere, they had just reached escape velocity when the facility went nuclear, lighting up the surface entirely.

They docked with the _Solaco_, and were finally off Archeron.

"Hudson, will you help me get a stretcher for Corporal Hicks?" Bishop asked.

"Sure" Hudson answered, and the two of them disembarked the dropship and walked straight to medical, not noticing the Queen staring them down from behind.

Jake, Newt and Ripley disembarked next, and noticed the queen behind them.

Newt screamed. Jake reached for the Katana in his jacket. Ripley grabbed Newt.

This was not good. The Queen sent her tail flying at Ripley and Newt, missing the hit by only a few feet. Newt broke free of Ripley's hold and started to run out away from the loading dock.

"I'll distract it!" Jake yelled, "Go get a loader!"

Ripley ran to the other end of the bay, as Jake pulled the sword loose from it's sheath, leaving most of it inside. It was on.


	8. Now or Never

**Chapter 8: Now or Never**

Jake was trying his hardest to keep cool. The Queen he'd have to distract was as tall as the dropship, had a ten-foot tail with a hardened razor-sharp end, and had 4 arms to boot.

Jake on the other hand was 6 ft 0 inches, and had nothing besides a katana to defend himself with.

The Queen had acid for blood, couldn't see, had acid for blood, and could smell him to see.

Jake on the other hand, could see, and was as mortal as the rest of the crew.

The only thing he had going for him were his quick reflexes and his skill with the Katana. He also had been wanting to do this for a long time.

"Hey!" He yelled to the queen, who was turning to head towards Ripley, "Over here!"

Jake fully unsheathed the Hyper-Katana, and assumed an en garde stance, samurai-style.

The Queen finished turning to face him, and brought the tail forward to stab him. Jake slashed sideways to block the stab. He heard Vasquez cheer from inside the dropship.

"Bring it oooonnnnnn!" He yelled, blocking a high slash made by the queen.

The queen spun around slowly, bringing the tail in a sweeping motion as she turned. Jake realized what she was trying to do. She was going to make a whip-slash with her tail.

He watched the tail be brought lower as she finished the spin. He saw it come to him at stomach-level.

He remembered an old dance move, and enacted it. Falling on the sides of his feet and bending back, he managed to dodge the tail. He felt the powerful rush of wind that came with the tail as it swept overhead.

Standing back up, he saw the Queen make another 360, and that it was starting to head low.

Waiting for the moment, and imagining jumping rope with Newt and her brother Timmy, he jumped over the tail.

The Queen got smart, and started to sweep it backwards. Jake started to turn around, and swing his sword in an upwards slash, and blocked the slash made by the Queen.

For a good ten minutes the queen continued to slash and stab at him, only to be blocked by Jake's Katana.

Jake was getting exhausted however, he didn't know how long he could keep it up.

Just when he thought he could go no further, he heard the servo-sound from a loader. He looked, and saw Ripley driving one. "Get away from the kid you bitch." She said, spinning the grabbers as she walked for the queen.

He saw Ripley start to push the queen to the airlock, moving her one step at a time.

When Ripley brought it to bear on the airlock, and dropped it, things went wrong. The Queen wrapped her tail around the loader and dragged Ripley down with it.

Jake ran to the airlock to help Ripley, moving like he'd never moved before. He saw Ripley climb up the ladder on the airlock.

She told him to grab onto something. Jake knew what she was going to do.

Stabbing the blade in between the holes in the deck, he assumed his tightest sword grip as Ripley opened the doors.


	9. Cleaning Up the Mess

**Chapter 9: Clean up**

The Airlock was opened. The depressurization wind was like the worst windstorm on Archeron times a thousand. It was so bad, it started to pick stuff up that was lying around on the deck, and send it flying towards the airlock.

Jake was holding on for his life, relying on his swordsman's grip to keep him there.

He had no trouble breathing; the air was all rushing towards him, and there seemed to be plenty to go around on the _Solaco_.  
>He turned his head to see how Ripley was doing. It seemed like no matter what happened, the Queen just wouldn't let go of her leg. She had her arms wrapped in a secure hold on the ladder. The loader was stuck in the space on the airlock, jammed.<p>

He'd had an idea, it was risky and could injure Ripley if he wasn't careful, yet it had to be done.

Wrapping his feet around the blade, using the soles of his shoes to grip it, careful not to put too much pressure on the blade, he reached into his jacket and found what he was looking for.

He drew a throwing knife. It was very thin, looking similar to a switchblade, but with a few crucial differences. For starters, the handle was circular and thin, lacking in a chamber for the blade, and without the switch mechanism. The blade was very different too, long and thin, with an edge that would be better for creating a puncture wound then cutting in addition to stabbing.

"Ripley!" Jake yelled, "Hold still, I'm gonna throw a knife at it!"

Ripley replied "You're crazy!"

"Just hold still!" Jake yelled back.

"Go ahead and try it, just be careful!" Ripley permissed. Jake leaned forward to get a good look. He grabbed the knife by the flat of the blade, and threw it straight at the Queen, hitting it dead on.

The Queen immediately let go of Ripley, and fell out of the airlock, screaming for a moment before being silenced, yet still moving.

Jake felt a greater rush of air from the depressurization, and realized the chamber was running out. He spotted the airlock door mechanisms, and found the outer door switch.

Moving his legs so that the inside of them matched the flat part of the blade, he moved to work the mechanism. He reached out as far as he could go without letting go, he mashed his palm against the button.

With a familiar whine, the doors on the bottom began to shut. Slowly, with the rush of air growing steadily weaker, they worked together, finally closing.

Jake let go of the handle and went to go see how Ripley was. He found her passed out on the airlock doors, lying on her right side.

"Bishop!" Jake yelled. "Vasquez, Hudson, somebody help!"

He turned around to see Bishop and Hudson carrying a stretcher to the dropship.

Bishop said something to Hudson, and then left to go help Jake. "It's Ripley, she's passed out on the airlock door." He explained.

Bishop looked over the edge, and then started climbing down the ladder. Picking her up and hoisting her over one shoulder, he began climbing up the ladder with one hand.

Newt ran over to Jake "Is mommy going to be okay?" she asked.

Jake looked at her. He'd never heard Newt refer to Ripley as mommy, though he realized what this meant for both of them.

Bishop answered before Jake could open his mouth. "She's passed out from a lack of oxygen. She'll be fine when she wakes up in a few hours. She just needs some time to rest and recover. The amazing part about it is that she's still breathing." He explained as he carried her to medical.

Jake noticed that Hudson and Vasquez were carrying Hicks on the stretcher as they started following Bishop.

"Come on, let's see if we can find something to eat in the Mess hall." Jake said, motioning for Newt to come with him.

However, Newt didn't want to leave Ripley, and frankly Jake didn't want to either. They followed Bishop to medical with everyone else, and though he constantly said that she would be fine, they still wouldn't leave her side.

A few hours later, Ripley woke up and proved Bishop right. "Where am I?" she said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "You're in Medical." Jake explained. Bishop had gone to get more bandages for Hicks.

"Mommy, you're okay!" Newt yelled, wrapping her in a big hug. "She refused to leave until you were okay." Jake explained.

The tender sight made him a little said. He'd never had that sort of loving relationship with anyone. Back before the infestation, he and his dad had the most dysfunctional father-son relationship ever. He'd never had a mother, and he'd only found love with Roxane.

He then remembered the day's he'd babysit Newt and her brother Timmy when Mr. and Mrs. Gordan would go out. They had looked at him like a big brother, and he'd viewed them as the little siblings he'd never had.

The sight made him start to cry, he'd always wanted a family. He didn't notice that Ripley and Newt saw. Soon he'd been crying audibly.

"Why are you crying Jake?" Newt asked. He turned around. "Just the fact that you got the mother you deserved in Ripley, and how it seems in the end I'm just gonna be alone." He sob-answered.

"But Jake, we're your new family." Newt answered.

Jake stopped for a moment. "You consider me family?" He asked. "Of course Jake." Ripley answered. "Families care about each other. We're your family now."

"Really?" Jake asked in disbelief.

"Really." Newt answered.

"Come here." Ripley said, motioning for Jake to join them. Jake happily obliged, and became part of the group embrace.

They hugged in a moment of warm silence. "Nice, look at that." Hudson commented, surprising everyone. Newt turned around and grinned. "Uncle Hudson!" she yelled as she ran to him and hugged him while he stood up.

The move caught Hudson off guard, and he just stood there in shock. Vasquez walked into the room. "The kid likes you ya idiot." She said, playfully punching his arm.

Jake and Ripley laughed. It looked like things were alright.

"I don't know about you all, but I'm gonna take a shower." Jake said, getting up. "I haven't had the chance to take one in a long time." He then made his way to the showers, and cleaned up.


	10. Mission Complete?

**Chapter 10: Mission Complete?**

After Jake got out of the shower and got dressed, he realized that this was it. He'd been rescued, he had a family now, and he was on his way to bigger and better things.

He was also hungry and headed to the mess hall. When he arrived, he saw that everyone was waiting for him, all around the main table.

The meal that had been made was one of his favorites; an old Italian dish known as Spaghetti and Meatballs.

"Come on, we're having a celebration meal." Newt said. "Yeah," Hudson added "Bishop made it, and Ripley won't let us start without you." Hudson them mumbled something bad about Ripley, which Vasquez heard and punched him for it.

"I am pretty hungry" Jake admitted, taking a seat. "You don't mind if we say grace do you?" he asked.

"Can't we just eat? I'm starving!" Hudson remarked, receiving another punch from Vasquez.

"Go ahead Jake," Ripley answered "I think that we have to thank someone for letting us live through it."

Hudson moaned, and got yet another punch from Vasquez, before bowing his head.

Jake crossed his arms against his chest New-Age style, and began to pray. "Dear heavenly father, we thank you for everything you've had us live through lord. We ask that you protect the souls of our fallen comrades, as they cross the void to reach your Great Gig in the Sky. Lord, we thank you for giving us our guardian angels, who have protected us against the Creatures. And Lord, we ask that you bless this celebration meal, and watch over us as we surrender to the void, as you guide the _Sulaco _home. Lord, we ask this in Jesus name. Amen."

Hudson spoke first, "Finally we can eat!" yet no sooner had he reached for his fork, then he'd received yet another punch from Vasquez, who said "Show a little respect man."

They began to eat. The talk was light for once, and stories were swapped of more happy times. It seems that as a family, things were finally okay.

Later, when it came time to prepare for Hyper-sleep, Jake found something that just seemed useful. He brought it into the Hibernacula.

"You don't mind if I use one of these do you?" He asked Bishop. It was a Cryotube-gear-storage attachment.

"What do you need it for?" Bishop asked. He saw Ripley look back towards him.

"I just want to make sure my good luck jacket makes it with me if anything happens." He answered.

Bishop looked over at Ripley, who gave an "I don't care" look to him.

Bishop answered "If you really think you'll need it, then go ahead."

Jake was thrilled. "Thanks" he said. He then attached it to the correct ports on the cryo-tube, and put his thumb against the reader.

It opened, and Jake put his jacket in, complete with all the contents, including his Hyper-Katana in its sheath, and shut the top.

"Well, I'll see you when we get there mom." Jake said, lying down in the tube.

Everyone followed suit, and it was dark in the chamber once again as they surrendered into the void. What they didn't know, was that something else was roaming the ship. Something that would change their plans once again.

**End of Book 1**

_**A few legal notes**_

_I do not own Aliens, or any of the characters from the movie. I do however own Jake Essex, for he is my character, and anyone who uses him without my permission will be sued. However, anyone who sees this as something other than fanfiction is a moron and should go play in traffic._


	11. Epilogue: The Point of Know Return

**Epilogue: The Point of Know Return**

They say that the idea of returning information to another person after you have found out is impossible.

To say that events will be forgotten though, is barely a stretch of imagination.

However, if you were told a person talked about you behind your back, and you had been ignorant of the fact ahead of time, you would want to know more.

They will tell you to forget about it, insist that it was nothing, and even tell you to say that you never found out.

However, deep in your mind, you will not. You may try to avoid thinking about it for however long it takes. Eventually, you will come close to forgetting simply by not using the thought.

For Jake and the rest of the survivors, what went on at Archeron would be impossible to truly forget.

Try as they might to keep the memories out of their heads, the events would still have their after effects in the mental malaria known as nightmares.

While they slept, many of them went through it. The only way to end them is to wake up. However, in this advanced hyper-sleep, one that mimicked sleep in it's drawn out way, the nightmares continued.

There is a way the mind forgets about the experiences. After a great amount of time, and an appropriate cycle of therapy, the nightmares would go away.

Just like you or I could forget that the person talked about us behind our backs, and continue on with our lives, the fact would eventually disappear.

The common term for it is forgetting. However, a more descriptive and drawn out term, is passing the point of know return.

It is a point that can be hard to pass, and easy at the same time. However, the point would take a while to pass, and the events have seemed to cycle around. Because the treats that lurk in the shadows of the ship will make sure of that.


End file.
